Apparatus for continuously processing wire



March 10, 1942. l. L. sHARLoWl APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY PROCESSING WIRE Filed March 1'7, 1939 ATT Patented Mar. 10, 1942 APPARATUS Foa'coN'rINUoUsLY raocassmc wlmi Irving L. sharldw, Massese, N. Y., .assigner to Aluminum Company of America,- Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania AppmsutaMai-ch 17, 1939, serial No. 262,441

s Claims.

This invention relates to the cleaning of wire,

and more particularly to the removal from wire ing and straightening or similarly processing 1 wire. Another object is to provide in combination with a wire straightening machine or the like an apparatus -adapted to simultaneously move aI wire through said machine and clean said-wire.

Another object of the invention is the provision of new and novel methods of cleaning lubricant coated wire.

It is generally necessary in straightening wire, and in similar processes where the wire is passed through dies, to apply to the wire a lubricant to ease movement of the wire through the dies and to reduce surface marking of the wire. For various well known reasons including wire inspection, it is desirable to thereafter remove the nlm of lubricant from the surface-of the wire, and this has previously been accomplished by washing the wirevwith a suitable cleaning fluid. When wire is wound into coils after processing,

the cleaning is accomplished either by in imersingl the whole coil in la cleaning solution Vor by unwinding the wire, cleaning and re-coiling the same. Apart from the additional; time thus necessarily employed, such procedures are undesirable because of the type of apparatus which must be made available for this purpose.

This invention provides a machine whereby the wire may be drawn, straightened, or similarly processed, and at the same time eifcctively cleaned as it passes through the drawing, straightening, or processing machine.

Broadly, the'invention contemplates a method of continuously cleaning a lubricant coated wire, which method consists in applying .a cleaning fluid to the wire and thereafter moving it through rotating burnishing'and feeding means which engage the wire throughout a substantial portion of its periphery and simultaneously advance it during the. cleaning operation.

The invention also comprises a combination of means for continuously applying cleaning fluid to the wire, and means adapted to simultaneously move the wire through said machine,

face of the moving wire, and mechanically break up or loosen the lubricant lm thereon. More specically, the latter-named 4means consists`of a plurality of rollers having working factadapted to engagea substantial portion of the periphery of the wire between said rollers. The invention also embodies means adapted to remove the dissolved or loosened lubricant hn and cleaning fluid from the lmoving wire, and means for collecting the excess cleaning iiuid for re-use. l

The invention will be readily understood if one embodiment thereof be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 of the drawing is an elevation of the machine, showing certain of the parts diagrammatically; and

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line II--II of Fig. 1, and shows the preferred peripheral construction of the rollers and their operative position in contact with the wire.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, I is a frame having disposed in its upper portion two recesses 2 and 3. Disposed withinl the recess 2 is a conventional wire straightening means consisting of aset of dies (not shown) in a rotatably mounted cylinder 4. Disposed within the recess 3 are two oppositely disposed rollers 5 and 6 driven in opposite directions by means not shown. The axes of rotation of these rollers are shown as being in aoplane perpendicular to the path of travel of the wire 9. A wiping gland I is disposed at the rear or delivery side-of the rollers 5 and B remote from the cylinder hand preferably within the recess 3. and attached to frame I, asshown. VIn the gland is disposed a suitable wiping material which will not mar the surface of the wire passig therethrough but which will remove liquid from said wire. Examples of suitable materials for this purpose are rubber, rubber fabric, leather, and the like. A guide bushing' .8 having a bore therein is attached to the frame I on the side adjacent cylinder I. A cleaning iluid storage tank I0 is disposed above the frame I. Attached to tank I0 isa conduit II having a valve controlling ow therethrough, the conduit terminating directly above wire 9 at a point ahead of rollers v5 and 6. A receptacle I2, open at its top, is ldisposed below the wire 9. rollers 5 and 8, and wiping gland l, in `the recess l, and has connected thereto a conduit I3 extending downwardly and opening into a duid-receiving tank I4. A suitable receiving table I B. supported on legs I 6, only one spread the applied cleaning fluid upon the su`rof which is shown. is disposed at the exit end of the machine. The table l5 is provided with ari/upper elongated wire guide I8 disposed in horizontal alignment with the wiper l for receiving and supporting the wire as it moves outwardly from the wiper. The table and associated guide are provided for handling wires of n predetermined lengths.

Referring to Fig. 2, the rollers are there shown in their operating position with respect to the wire, thaty is, with their peripheral working faces adjacent one another. The construction of the peripheries of the rollers is such that when the rollers are in operating position, asshown in Fig. 2, the wire in the vertical plane of contact the wire to prevent substantial slippage and provide sufficient rigidity to loosen the lubricant lm. It has been found that rollers having a fiber periphery are, suitable when handling wire upl to approximately inch diameter: for wire f ofgreater diameter, it is preferred to use rollers having steel peripheries for maximumwearing qualities. a

In'the'operation of the above described embodiment of the invention, the wire to be cleaned, which has upon its surface a film of condition that further cleaning is not required before surface inspection and shipment.

It will be understood that the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing is merely one form lof the invention, and that various modiications thereof are possible without departure from the spirit of the invention.

'Ihe term wire as used in this specification and in the appended claims includes elongated lubricant, may be tapered for a sumclent length at its end so that it'will freelypass through the guide bushing 8, the dies in the cylinder I, and between the rollers 5 and 6. Instead of tapering the wire, the straighteningl dies in cylinder 4 may b'e opened sumciently to accommodate full size wire. Suitable lubricant cleaning fluid, for example, a lubricant solvent. is placed in storage tank I 0 and is allowed to flow through conduit Il onto the moving wire 9 as the latter moves between the rollers 5 and 8 for engagement therewith, the rate of flow being varied for wires of different diameters to supply the required amount of iiuid thereto. Besides serving to pull the wire through the straightening dies, the rollers, by

reason of their contact with `the wire substan tially entirely around its periphery, valso funcltion to spread the cleaning fluid uniformly on the wire and to effectively burnish the wire surface and thus loosen or break up the nlm of lubricant. 'Ihe-v excess j cleaning duid draining fromthe wire falls into receptacle l! and is Il.- After the wire has passed between the roll- 7 ers 5 andi,y it passes through the wiping gland severed piece suitably discharged onto the table i5 for inspection and bundling after adesired number .of pieces have been collected.- t The feeding action of the rollers l-l preferably isinterrupted during the severingoperation. For cutting the wire a suitable wire cutter may be pro-- vided, as indicated at i9, adjacent the front end of the .guide Il. i

-conveyed through' conduit I 3 to receiving tank a products of similar nature, for example. those referred to in the art as rod.

I claim:

l. In a wire cleaning apparatus; means for advancing a wire to be cleaned including peripherally opposed rotating means in frictional driving engagementv with the wire therebetween. means for vdirecting a stream of liquid cleaning fluid against said wire as it moves between said rotating means to the point o f engagement therewith, said rotating means having peripheral grooves forming wire engaging surfaces in rolling contact with vsubstantially the entire wire periphery, whereby to Ispread the cleaning iiuid around the wire and force the fluid into intimate contact with the surface of the wire, and a wiping gland arranged behind said rotating means in alignment therewith.

for gripping the wire therebetween and pushing it through the wiper, said rollers having complementallygrooved peripheries for frictionally engaging the wire substantially entirely around its periphery, and means for discharging the solvent at a predetermined rate in a stream upon the wire as it moves between said rollers, said rollers serving to spread 'the solvent and forcibly commingle it with the lubricant on the wire during said engagement therewith. whereby the lubricant remaining on the wire is dissolved and loosened for removal during passage of the wire through the wiper.

3. In an apparatus for cleaning lubricant coated wire and the like, the combination with lan elevated tank containing liquid cleaning duid,

anda support for the tank, of a pair of opposed feed lrollers rotatably mounted on said support below said tank, for gripping and advancing a wire therebetween in substantially a horizontal path, a wiper disposed in said path behind 'said rollers, the peripheries of said rollers being complementally grooved and engaging the wire substantially entirely around its periphery, a conduit leading from said .tank and terminating above the wire in front of said rollers, for gravity dlscharge of the said fluid in a stream upon the wire as it moves between said rollers, and a valve controlling flow through said conduit, said feed rollers serving' to spread the applied cleaning iiuid and forcibly commingle it with the lubricant'during said engagement with the wire.

whereby the lubricant is dissolved and loosened for removal by said wiper as the wire is moved therethrough.

By use of thel apparatus herein described, the

w'ire is straightened and continuously vand efectively cleaned in asingle pass, and is left in'such 4. In an f apparatus for cleaning lubricant coated wire and the like, in combination, an elevated tank for receiving liquid cleaning iiuid, a Support for the tank, a conduit leading from said tank, a valve controlling iiow through said 'coduit, a pair of grooved rollers iournalled onl said support below said tankv in vertically opposed relation ior movement of a wire therebetween. said conduit terminating directly above the wire in front ot said rollers for discharging the cleaning fluid upon the wire in a stream as it moves between said rollers, said rollers having rolling engagement with substantially the entire wire periphery, whereby the applied cleaning iluid is spread upon the wire and the lubricant thereon loosened for removal as the wire'emerges from between said rollers, a wiping device disposed behind said rollers for wiping the emerging wire,

a drip pan carried by said support and disposed under said rollers and said wiping device in position to receive the fluid and lubricant removed irom the wire, a drain conduit extending downwardly from said drip pan, and a movable receptacle into which the Iiuid discharging from said drain conduit is collected for re-use in said elevated tank.

v-bricant remaining on the wire isdissolved and n lubricant on the wire during said engagement with the rollers, and a wiping device interposed between said guide and said rollers in alignment ytherewith to wipe solvent and lubricant from the wire before it is received by said guide.

6. In an apparatus for removing processing lubricant from a wire or the like, wherein the lubricant on the wire is subjected to the action of a lubricant solvent and wiped therefrom by a wiper, the combination with said wiper, of a pair oi feed rollers disposed ahead oi the wiper for gripping the wire therebetween and pushing' it through the wiper, said rollers having complementally grooved peripheries for frictionally engaging the wire substantially 'entirely around its periphery, and means for discharging the solvent at la predetermined rate in a stream upon 4the wire as it moves between said rollers, said rollers serving to spread the solvent and forcibly commingle it with the lubricant on the wire during said engagement therewith, whereby the luloosened for removal during passage of the wire through thev wiper, said feed rollers being provided with ber vperipheries for engaging the wire when wire of approximately 1%" diameter or less is being cleaned, to eliminate marking of the' surface of thelwire.

1 IRVING L. SHARLOW.

applied solvent around the wire and loosen the f 

